Peekskill hopes waterfront revival will rejuvenate downtown

Jun. 13, 2013

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Art installations photographed May 31, 2013, at Riverfront Green and areas throughout the city of Peekskill that are factored in as part of the city's long term plan to revitalize the waterfront adjacent to the Hudson River. / Matthew Brown / The Journal News

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PEEKSKILL — Those who know about Riverfront Green Park see it as a gem still undiscovered by many, with spectacular views of the Hudson River’s broad bend around Dunderberg Mountain.

But city leaders see much more on the way for residents and visitors to enjoy on the waterfront, and in the city’s downtown. They envision four miles of walking paths, kayak launches, more sculptures and planted areas and an educational center on maritime life.

They would be tied to the small city’s downtown via Central Avenue, a corridor that reaches from the waterfront to Peekskill’s 18-block artists district.

“You’re looking to attract people to come to the waterfront, spend the weekend, because it will be busy — it will be fun,” Mayor Mary Foster said. “It’s the hub in supporting a gateway to tourism and a gateway to our downtown.”

This summer, the city plans to receive bids from companies vying for a $3.8 million project to spruce up the 4-acre Peekskill Landing site at the north edge of Riverfront Green. Construction is expected to begin in the fall on a plan developed with the organization Scenic Hudson, creating paths, a kayak dock, a gazebo and places for sculpture.

Henry Cassell, a resident who once ran for the Common Council, said he would enjoy making use of the Peekskill Landing site. On a recent day, he was taking his 3-year-old Newfoundland for a walk at Riverfront Green, as he does year-round.

“It’s beautiful. It’s fabulous,” Cassell, 63, said of the views. “It’s one of the best setups in any of the river towns.”

The start of the Peekskill Landing work is expected to be followed by the development of a trail to the south of the park, running along the waterfront all the way to Charles Point, with its historic Fleischmann Pier.

The reinvention of the waterfront has been planned for years. Republicans point to that long time frame to say that the city under Foster, a Democrat, has delayed progress that was already on its way. Much of the project will be funded with an $8.3 million state grant the city obtained before she took office in 2008.

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“After I left, they just totally put everything on hold,” said Foster’s predecessor, Republican John Testa, now a county legislator.

Frank Catalina, a Republican who will run against Foster in November, said the city has been too hard on developers, making it difficult for reasonable projects to proceed.

Foster said the city put in reasonable controls on development to protect neighborhoods. She said the economic downturn put things on hold in Peekskill and elsewhere, beginning with the withdrawal of a major project by the Ginsburg Development Cos. while Testa was still mayor.

The renewal is crucial for more than just aesthetics and downtown vitality. Last month, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the city’s credit rating to Aa3, its fourth-highest level, in part because the development in the city had stalled. But the service noted that there has been recent motion in the area, including the construction underway for an $8 million Holiday Inn Express near the water.

Last year, the city applied for a grant to rebuild theFleischmann Pier, but did not succeed. Michael Welti, the city’s director of planning and development, said the city is considering applying again. Extending the dock, which is now blocked off short of its original length, would benefit the many anglers who pack the pier for the annual striped bass run.

“We don’t have any room,” said Hai Nguyen, 43, who was fishing on the pier on a recent day. “A lot of people fight for a spot.”

The historic Lincoln Depot — a former train stop named for Abraham Lincoln, who made a speech there in 1861 when he was president-elect — has been renovated. But Testa, who is also president of the Lincoln Foundation, which drove the renovation, said the museum needs a visitors center that the city is expected to build.

The National Maritime Historical Society, based in Peekskill, plans to build a center at Peekskill Landing for visitors to learn about life at sea. The building, called an interpretive center, would be 10,000 to 14,000 square feet and would include a glass wall looking out on the Hudson, etched with information about what visitors are seeing.

The society’s Executive Director Burchenal Green said board members are waiting for the city to approve a change in zoning to allow the society’s headquarters on the public site along with the interpretive center.

Downtown, new restaurants and other businesses have been opening or expanding.

“That Peekskill waterfront is just incredible,” said Meg Rasmussen, Scenic Hudson’s project manager on Peekskill Landing. “It would be great to be able to just keep going.”